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South Africa Shows its Colors at Travel Expo

May 17th, 2012 Lark Ellen Gould

Waving the Flag in South Africa

By Lark Ellen Gould

It takes a lot to turn a destination such as South Africa into a successful long-haul destination for US travelers. But South Africa has done just that. At Indaba 2012 in Durban this month the numbers continue to tell the story. After a record-breaking year in 2010, when the World Cup literally brought the world to South Africa, which allowed tourism to spike by more than 15 percent and arrivals to reach 8.1 million (only 310,000 of those for the soccer matches, by the way), 2011 has managed to surpass those numbers to 8.3 million. The USA accounted for 282,377 visitors in 2010’s big year and rose by 1.9 percent in 2011.

The tourism brass at Indaba has big plans to keep the tourism numbers bolstered with an eye for seeing 15 million international arrivals by 2020. While cities around the country are creating improvements in infrastructure, tourism zones, fair trade and environmental practices and quality assurance campaigns, the government is supporting these efforts with a world-class airline in South African Airways, as well as new transportation systems, new airport facilities and new policies to ease arrival into the country.

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SAA to Africa: Selling the Southern Skies

May 17th, 2012 Lark Ellen Gould

South African Airways SAA

By Lark Ellen Gould

South African Airways with the help of its code share partner, Ethiopian Airlines, pretty much rules the African skies, especially for travelers coming from the US. And for those fortunate enough to travel on SAA, the ride can be good indeed. The airline makes daily nonstop flights from Washington/Dulles and JFK that take around 15 hours. The code shares from US cities with Jet Blue and Virgin America ensure seamless flights that allow baggage check-in from origin city to Johannesburg.

The airline is one of the few in the sky to offer business class passengers comfortable lie flat seats – with cotton mattress pad and matching duvet – that puts it right up there with competitors in Singapore Air, Emirates, Lufthansa and Virgin Atlantic and the airline continues to put its money where its mouth is despite the global challenges faced by all airlines these days.

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Dreaming of Trains Through Africa

May 17th, 2012 Lark Ellen Gould

Rovos Rail takes its train through Africa

By Lark Ellen Gould

You don’t have to be a rail enthusiast to appreciate the fin de siècle experience to be had on a Rovos Rail ride through the savannahs of Africa. The trip will be had in lovingly restored 1920s style Pullman steam trains and the ride will be anything but ordinary.

The company is the dream child of one Rohan Vos a South African who always had a passion for trains and started putting his energy where his passions lie in 1985, beginning with a train auction and a chance to create his own rail company from a coach or two and a will for preservation. His vision saw the light of day in April 1989. Rovos Rail launched with one train of 13 carriages once a month from Cape Town to the Kruger National Park.

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Cape Town by Car: Divine Wine Drives

May 17th, 2012 Lark Ellen Gould

Great Drives from Cape Town, South Africa

By Lark Ellen Gould

Few Americans go the distance to South Africa without checking out the beauty and culture of Cape Town. The city is overseen from on high by iconic Table Mountain (adventure travelers skip the tram and take the path for a good 12-hour hike), and by the confluence of the Atlantic and Indian oceans below. And it is filled with absolute must-dos, beginning with the half-day tour to Robben Island and a visit to the fabulous Two Oceans Aquarium.

But for travelers who have a little time and a yen for wine, Cape Country Routes is happy to provide the itinerary.

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What’s Doin’ in Durban?

May 17th, 2012 Lark Ellen Gould

 

Durban, South Africa Beachwalk

By Lark Ellen Gould

As the jumping off point to the wildlife and cultural tourism offerings of KwaZulu Natal, and as South Africa’s second largest city, Durban deserves some attention of its own. It’s a compact town of some 3.5 million residents, and then more if you count the garden house suburbs and the Umlazi Township beyond where some 500,000 black Africans live.

But in the city itself — marked by a relaxing golden beachwalk on one side, Africa’s busiest port on the other, and a lot of writhing city in between — begs to be explored. Laid out on a map the city is a very walkable two or three square miles. But within that terrain you will go from family-focused beach front to quaint colonial parks and tea houses to loud and colorful sidewalks of commerce where you can get a manicure for $8, a haircut for $5; you can buy a treasure trove of fine African beadwork and carvings for less than the cost of a magazine at an American newsstand, and you can find magic in the strange powers of muti, easily accessed at the muti market on the edge of town.

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USA to Africa …the Easy Way

May 17th, 2012 Lark Ellen Gould

 

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